Bathurst Drivers: Dick Johnson

Dick
Johnson

Dick Johnson

Undoubtedly one of the best loved Aussie race
drivers of all time. Even those who were not fans of
the blue oval seemed to warm to him in a way never before
seen. Johnson found a love for driving as a young child
while in the company of his father, and to the casual
observer the progression to highly ranked race driver
seemed inevitable. But the progression to becoming a
three times Bathurst winner was certainly no walk in
the park; dedication, commitment, talent and a little
luck all play their part.

Although we associate Johnson
with Ford’s, his racing career
on the Mount started out with Holden Torana’s,
then as a struggling back-marker during the 1970’s.
The watershed would come in 1980, a race that would see
Johnson put in one of his best performances to date.
Victory is never a given at the Mount, nor is a podium
finish, the circuit has produced too many heartbreak
moments for that, and 1980 would be no different.

The Rock

A rock
appeared on the track, and debate remains to this
day as to whether it had fallen or had been thrown. The
car was all but destroyed, and Johnson’s 1980 campaign
seemed over. But Aussie race fans could see the heartfelt
emotion from his impromptu interview immediately after
the accident, and public donations to get his race team
up and running again began to flood in. Ford promised
to match the donation dollar for dollar, and the next
year Johnson was back on the track, and in better shape
than ever.

He would win both the Australian Touring Car
Championship (ATCC) and the Bathurst 1000 (with partner
John French) for 1981, the ATCC again in 1982 in his
now familiar “Tru Blu” XD Falcon, and again
in 1984 in the now “Greens Tuff” XE Falcon.
He switched to the all conquering Ford Sierra RS500’s
and would again take out the ATCC in 1988, and in 1989
grabbed both the ATCC and Bathurst titles (this time
partnering with John Bowe). That winning partnership
would continue through the early 1990’s, and the
pair would again take victory at the Mount in 1994 when
driving a Falcon EB.

In 1989 and 1990, Johnson made a
brief foray into the Nascar Winston Cup, entering a total
of seven races with a best start of 11th at Sears Point
Raceway in his first race, and a best finish of 22nd
at Pocono Raceway. Dick Johnson would retire from racing
at the end of the 1999 season, however he has remained
in charge of the team, with son Steven now taking over
the number made so famous by his father, 17. If your
up for it, why not take a hot lap with Dick.